<p>Another question is will $100K or even $150K/yr make you happy. I'd say the answer to that is no for most headed into finance.</p>
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Another question is will $100K or even $150K/yr make you happy. I'd say the answer to that is no for most headed into finance.
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I suppose not having or not being able to get a job or working 75+hours/week for $60k/year with an insignificant bonus will not make them happy either.</p>
<p>The more important question at hand here is whether these people are in finance/ibanking for the sole purpose of making money or do they actually enjoy the work?
If they enjoy the work, then there's nothing more to say.
If they are solely in finance for the money, they have no imagination.</p>
<p>To answer the OP's question.
1. Which major will offer the best job outlook? As of right now, PharmD > BA Finance hands down.
2. Which major will offer the highest starting salary? Without a question PharmD > BA Finance.</p>
<p>Now to address a common misconception:
3. Which major will offer the most potential?
Common assumption: Finance
Reality: Depends on the effort, determination, and goals of the individual.</p>
<p>I think that most people miss the point that I was trying to make here...</p>
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Another question is will $100K or even $150K/yr make you happy.
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</p>
<p>My point is that because employment as a pharmacist is incredibly flexible, you have the opportunity an time to acquire other expertises/skill sets. For example, let's say I just graduated with a PharmD but that wasn't my true passion. I could go back to school to pursue something such as a MS ChemE while working 3 days a week as a pharmacist which would allow you to go into a field such as petroleum engineering that was mentioned somewhere above in this thread. </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that occupations that combine 2 or more in demand expertises tend to have the highest income (ie. MD/JD, MD/MBA, graduate science/engineering degree JD, etc.) but there's very little data about these niche roles and compensation in these fields, while are amazing, vary considerably.</p>
<p>Depends on the school you attend. Finance is a junk degree at most state schools. Only undergrad finance degrees at Wharton, Stern, Ross, Hass, and a couple others are worth anything. Economics/math is generally considered a lot more impressive. In fact, econ/math at say, MIT, is a lot more impressive than finance at Stern. Anyone who can do higher level math can learn finance.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with wutang. As for getting into petroleum engineering with a chemical engineering degree that really depends on the school. Any corporation hiring a chemical engineer will definitely want them working in the refining/downstream sector. They won't want to have to invest in retraining you, they want to you be prepared out of school and ready to build upon the knowledge you have already obtained. Some schools do offer chemical engineering will an emphasis on petroleum. But I think that takes away from what is great about chemical engineering. Instead of being the highest paid engineering profession who doesn't have to travel, you are now an overqualified engineer who knows more about chemicals than someone who specialized in petroleum exploration. It is like a mechanical engineer trying to do electrical engineering, it is not that the mechanical engineer hasn't taken classes in electrical engineering, or doesn't have an electrical engineering background, but you are at a disadvantage for lack of knowledge. Your a bit out of your element. I say for anyone wanting to do petroleum engineering you should seriously consider getting a helper job offshore over the summer and seeing if you like working 14 and 14, or 21 and 14. It would definitely put things in perspective for you. Then also, it is not every petroleum engineer who will be making the high figures that are mentioned. A petroleum engineer who works in an office 9-5 will be making considerably less than one who is working out in the field. They will also make less than a chemical engineer working a 9-5 job at a chemical plant. So, if anyone thinks they are going to have a 9-5 job as a petroleum engineer making 110,000 a year out of college they have another thing coming. It doesn't work that way. If you want to get anywhere in petroleum engineering these days you have to sacrifice the first 10 years of your life out of college, at least. I would say just make up your mind on the issue and decide on one. To the OP do what you like the most. As far as engineering goes, if you have a passion for a particular science, then use that to decide what your engineering concentration will be. For example, if you wouldn't like being a chemist, you wouldn't want to do chemical engineering. It is the same for geology, if you don't like geology you wouldn't want to become a petroleum engineer. I have I love for geology, so petroleum engineering was a natural fit. I wouldn't pursue a grad degree in petroleum engineering though. I am considering pursuing a PhD in geophysics or geochemistry though. As for me, a graduate degree in engineering just doesn't make sense. It is good to get an engineering degree so you aren't just one dimensional. You are more well rounded and have more options. But I'm more of a pure science oriented person. My petroleum engineering major was just so I could have the status of an engineer and to make the good salary an engineer makes. I was also able to take all the geology classes I wanted and also got a geology minor, so it worked out. Whatever you do, don't do it for the money. At least have some kind of interest or fascination for the subject you are studying. Any amount of money will not makeup for the lifestyle you'll be living. My next 10 years will be a lot of traveling and a lot of time away from home. There will be no time to worry about a wife or a family even. I knew about this from the start and I am perfectly comfortable with it. To me, the time I'll get off, is worth the time I put in. Also, traveling is something I always wanted to do, and was one of my goals. To me, there is no undesirable working condition if you love what you are doing. People who find something undesirable shouldn't be doing it in the first place.</p>
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Finance, Pharmacy, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Business, economics.
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<p>A lot of it depends on what sort of a school you're going to. For less prestigious schools, I'd go with Pharmacy or Civil Engineering because prestige is relatively unimportant. If you're going to a top 20 school, finance is probably not a bad idea. </p>
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the major that will provide you with the best job and starting salary is the one you enjoy the most.
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<p>Oh, okay. So a kid who goes to a state school and gets a degree in business will make as much as the engineering major, if he "enjoys" it? While I agree that enjoying your job and being good at it will help you to advance within your organization and increase your salary, an investment banker who hates his job will make way more than a pharmacist who enjoys filling prescriptions.</p>
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While I agree that enjoying your job and being good at it will help you to advance within your organization and increase your salary, an investment banker who hates his job will make way more than a pharmacist who enjoys filling prescriptions.
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If you read through this thread, you would have realized this is not necessarily the case.</p>
<p>There's a wide range of seniority in investment bankers, but we're dealing with "which major will offer the best job outlook/starting salary" based on your FIRST degree you COULD obtain right after high school.</p>
<p>Whether you make a lot as an investment banker (or even remain an investment banker) is based on many things such as the economy, promotion, etc - a lot of which are out of YOUR control. This all applies to the "best" from your school that apply to become Ibankers and make it.</p>
<p>How much you make as a pharmacist is simply based on how much YOU want to work regardless of market conditions. If you wanted to work 2 jobs for a total of 72 hours a week, you would be making $200k/year with stability year in and year out if you wanted to. This applies to the worst pharmacy student in your class.</p>
<p>def not architecture, its not so much a money career. i believe it takes years for architects to earn six figure salaries, if ever.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider long term salary and quality of life...instead of just short term salary, do you have a lot of money to pay off or something?... i.e. a lot of fields make you take entry level jobs to start, but the long term potential surpasses many of the more practitioner degrees...</p>
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You might also want to consider long term salary and quality of life...instead of just short term salary, do you have a lot of money to pay off or something?... i.e. a lot of fields make you take entry level jobs to start, but the long term potential surpasses many of the more practitioner degrees...
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That assumes that the person with the practioner degree is not ambitious and doesn't take advantage of the best things about a practioner degree such as it's high dollar pay per hour and it's time flexibility.
Because once you start combining a couple specialized expertises to serve a niche market with high stable demand and extremely low supply, a general management sense, excellent previous work experience, and an entrepreneurial spirit all bets are off.</p>